Announce quota for Marathas by October 24: Activist Jarange tells Centre, state

Mumbai: Taking the demand ahead, Jalna-based activist and Shivba Sanghatana founder Manoj Jarange-Patil on Saturday asked the Centre and Maharashtra government to announce reservation to the Maratha community by October 24. 

Jarange-Patil asked the government to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community so that they get reservation under the category of Other Backward Classes (OBC).

“I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and the Cabinet ministers and leaders of Maharashtra to ensure that we get reservation in the next 10 days (by October 24). It would be a day that will be either my funeral procession or the community’s victory celebration,” said Jarange-Patil addressing a mammoth rally at the Antarwali Sarathi village in Ambad tehsil of Jalna located on the Dhule-Solapur Road. 

On October 22, Jarange-Patil would meet his core team and followers and decide on the future course of action. 

Jarange-Patil undertook a  hunger strike from August 29 to September 14 after assurances from Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that the government is committed to provide reservation to the Marathas. While agreeing to end the fast, Jarange-Patil had issued a 40-day deadline.

It may be mentioned that when Jarange-Patil was undertaking the fast, the political class of Maharashtra - cutting across party lines - had unanimously resolved to provide reservation to the Marathas. 

“We want a reservation that stays and passes the test of the Supreme Court…it should not breach the 50 per cent cap of the Supreme Court…issue Kunbi caste certificates and give reservation to Marathas under the OBC category,” he said. 

Jarange-Patil also hit out at veteran NCP and minister Chhagan Bhujbal, a veteran OBC leader, for allegedly claiming that Rs 7 crore had been collected for Saturday’s protest. “The Maratha community supported the protest and managed to arrange just Rs 21 lakh,” he said.

He also accused Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and advocate Gunratan Sadavarte of trying to incite the Maratha community. “I request the Prime Minister to have a word with Fadnavis so that good sense prevails,” he said. 

He accused the Maharashtra government of not conducting a survey to facilitate Maratha reservation.

Jarange-Patil also demanded the death penalty be given to the accused behind the  rape-murder of a minor girl, who belonged to the Maratha community, at Kopardi in the Ahmednagar district. In fact, seven years ago, the incident sparked off a series of rallies in the state demanding Maratha reservation.